DC Universe Online's upcoming game update is all about easier grouping

If you've been enjoying DC Universe Online ever since the game switched business models, odds are good you're looking toward the endgame by now. Game Update 9, which is coming soon, will make getting into that endgame even easier via the addition of Novice Raids. This new difficulty setting still allows players to experience all the storyline of Fortress of Solitude, Kahndaq, and the Batcave, but the difficulty will be notched down so that players can get a better feel for what they're doing.

Of course, if you're not into the endgame rush, you've still got something to look forward to with the new role-optional alerts system. In essence, players will now be able to queue for Alerts without needing to put together a balanced group; in the event that a role is missing, a team buff will be applied to ensure that the area can still be cleared. That means that even with nothing but Damage characters, you can still explore all of DC Universe Online's group content, something that should allow for some novel player approaches once the update goes live.

[Update: SOE has also issued a statement about plans for the game's PvP in 2012. The full quote is after the cut.]

There has been a great deal of commentary on our commitment to PvP in DCUO. I wanted to give you some information so we can all come to a better understanding of where we intend on taking the system. It is a very important part of our community and really shows off how amazingly different DCUO is from any other MMO out there. We love, we know you love it, and we're going to make sure it gets the attention it deserves.

First of all, we are very committed to PvP, and are already begun working on many fixes and improvements. There will be many additions to the PvP gameplay leading up to DLC 4 which will be out sometime mid 2012. Many of these efforts will be included in updates since they are general additions to the system that can't be considered exclusive - they impact all players so they must be inclusive (cross-faction would be a good example of this). Here is the best news, DLC4 is PvP focused! So you will also be getting a big injection of new PvP content and gameplay to enjoy.

I can't say any more about it because we have yet to even announced the details for DLC3 yet. But given the enormous reaction to the GU9 update preview, we felt it was important for you to know that we are working very hard, and dedicating significant resources, to our PvP gameplay in the coming months.